


Exculpate

by cutsycat



Series: Dictionary.Com Word of the Day Drabbles [1072]
Category: Bull (TV 2016), NCIS
Genre: Gen, Jason Bull as Anthony DiNozzo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-12
Updated: 2018-03-12
Packaged: 2019-03-30 10:36:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13949796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cutsycat/pseuds/cutsycat
Summary: Anthony DiNozzo left NCIS and started up a trial consultancy business as Dr. Jason Bull. He left no contact information and no one at NCIS was able to get a hold of him. He made sure of it. Now, Leroy Jethro Gibbs is on trial and Bull's team has been hired, but what is really going on with the trial and what about the greeting between Bull and Gibbs that has the TAC team spinning in circles?





	Exculpate

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TT_Angst_Queen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TT_Angst_Queen/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [TT_Angst_Queen](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TT_Angst_Queen/pseuds/TT_Angst_Queen) in the [NCIS_Prompts_2017](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/NCIS_Prompts_2017) collection. 



> Another dictionary.com word of the day drabble. This time from 04/07/2002 for the word [exculpate](http://www.dictionary.com/wordoftheday/2002/04/07/exculpate).
> 
> exculpate  
> To clear from alleged fault or guilt; to prove to be guiltless;to relieve of blame; to acquit.
> 
> This was requested by Tardis_Type40 as part of my 2017 prompt challenge. You can prompt me in 2018 [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile) by clicking the sign up link.
> 
> **Prompt:**
> 
> The TAC team is shocked when a grey haired man head-slaps their Boss after calling Bull 'DiNozzo' , then proceeds to kiss the living daylights out of him. Esspesially since said greyhaired man is their latest case.
> 
> **End Prompt**
> 
> I'm not completely happy with the ending, but I'm not sure how to make it better and wanted to post the story, so here it is. Hope you like it and that the ending isn't too terrible.
> 
> As always comments, kudos, and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.

# 

Exculpate

Jason couldn't believe it. Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his old boss when he worked at NCIS as Anthony DiNozzo, wanted to hire Bull and his team as trial consultants. He hadn't even realized who it was when Marissa told him about the case. She'd just said a federal agent was on trial for mishandling of evidence and misappropriation of federal resources.

Jason still felt a bond to federal agents not only from the time he worked at NCIS, but simply for the jobs they did with very little thanks. He'd immediately agreed to take the case without checking it out on his own, trusting Marissa to have done the due diligence needed. He rather regretted that now. He wasn’t prepared to see Gibbs again, especially not in front of the whole team. 

Gibbs blinked in shock as he recognized one, Anthony DiNozzo, as the man Marissa referred to as Bull. “DiNozzo.” Gibbs growled, moving close enough to deliver a head slap. The man had dropped off the face of the earth without leaving any contact information. Gibbs had tried to contact him, but had failed.

Losing Tony had shook Gibbs to his core. Tony had been the one agent that had stuck with him the longest and truthfully, he’d expected Tony to outlast him and take over the NCIS team when he retired. To have Tony turn in his resignation and just leave with no contact information and no trail to follow had forced Gibbs to reevaluate his life. 

It had been a shock for Gibbs to realize how close he’d come to being the very people he hated. He’d only been a few steps away from some of the things dirty cops were known for. He hadn’t accepted any bribes and he always went after the culprit no matter who they were, but his methods were not so above board especially in later years. 

It had taken Tony leaving to knock some sense into him and for him to realize how important the warrants really were. He wasn’t going through with this trial to exculpate himself. In fact, he hoped he was declared guilty of his crimes. 

He knew he had committed them. This was the only way he knew to atone for his crimes especially with Tony out of his life. Tony had been the one good thing in his life. He’d considered him more than a partner, though that too he hadn’t realized until after Tony left.

Gibbs followed up the head slap as all of these thoughts were going through his mind by pulling Tony towards him and kissing the living daylights out of him. Jason froze in shock. He’d had feelings for Gibbs when he worked at NCIS, but he had never thought they’d be returned. 

He also couldn’t accept them if Gibbs was still playing fast and loose with the law like he had been when he left. Still this was not a response Jason had expected if he’d ever met his old boss again. When Jason finally got his mind back, he pushed Gibbs away.

“Gibbs.” Jason murmured in acknowledgement, though what he was acknowledging not even he knew.

Marissa's eyebrows rose the longer this greeting went on and she couldn't help murmuring in confusion, “Bull?”

Cable's jaw dropped open and her eyes widened in surprise. She'd never seen anyone greet Bull this way before. Also, since when was Bull gay or bi? She thought Chuck was the only gay man in the office.

Benny didn’t know what to make of this development. He’d known Bull a long time, even going back to when he went by Anthony DiNozzo. Of course, he’d heard of Gibbs, but he’d never heard of them having a relationship. Nor had he heard or seen any signs that Jason or Tony was gay or bi. 

Chunk let out a breath in surprise as pieces suddenly slotted into place as to why Bull had been so accepting of him, which he hadn’t found anywhere outside of the fashion world. Of course, it also flashed through his mind how hot Bull was. Chunk couldn’t help wondering if he’d missed his chance with Bull due to not realizing that Bull was even on the market.

Bull stepped back and gathered himself, “For those who don’t know, this is Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs from NCIS. We go back a long ways as I used to work at NCIS.”

“And your relationship?” Cable blurted out.

Bull just leveled a glare at Cable. 

Gibbs, however, offered, “Also on trial.”

Bull turned his glare on Gibbs. Gibbs just shot him a flirty grin in response.

Jason shook his head, not entirely sure how to handle this Gibbs, so he defaulted to a professional response. “So you’re on trial for mishandling of evidence and misappropriation of federal resources?”

Gibbs nodded. “I’m not fighting it.”

Dr. Bull tilted his head in confusion. “Then what are we here for.”

“Vance wants to fight it, so he hired you to make sure I walked away free and clear. I’d rather you just make sure the truth comes out. You and I both know I did what they’re accusing me of.”

Dr. Bull rubbed his fingers on his chin and nodded thoughtfully. This wasn’t the same Gibbs that he’d left to start his trial consultancy business. This Gibbs was willing to admit to his mistakes and pay for them. Maybe he could give Gibbs a chance for a personal relationship now, but first they’d have to finish this trial.

Bull clapped his hands. “Let’s get to work people. Find out everything you can on this case and let’s see what we can do.”

“Are we trying to win the case for or against Gibbs?” Cable asked.

“Let’s find out what we’re working with and then we’ll see.” Dr. Bull murmured to his team, leading Gibbs into his office. 

Dr. Bull closed the door and turned to Gibbs. “What’s really going on, Jethro?”

Gibbs grunted. “Exactly what I said.”

“Who’s hanging you out to dry?”

“ONI.”

“Why are you letting the Office of Naval Intelligence hang you out to dry? The Gibbs I knew would have fought this tooth and nail regardless of the truth of the charges.” Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing and knew there must be more to this story.

“After you left, it drove home how far astray I’d gone. I couldn’t live with the realizations and had to make some changes.”

“Like what?” 

“I no longer ignore everything to get the bad guy. My team makes sure every t is crossed and i is dotted before we go in for an arrest. I’m trying to make up for the mistakes I made when I let revenge cloud my mind and believed that all that mattered was getting the bad guy.”

“So why is ONI hanging you out to dry?”

“Apparently we’re not closing cases fast enough anymore. They’re trying to prove something to me or force me to retire so they can bring in someone younger. I’m not sure which.”

“Why are you just letting them? It doesn’t seem like you, at all.”

“I want to atone for my mistakes. I don’t want to hide anymore.” Gibbs nodded to Tony meaningfully, indicating he meant more than just his NCIS career.

“Wow.” Jason couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t believe Gibbs had changed this much.

The trial revealed even more than Jason expected it to. Yes, Gibbs was technically on trial, but it quickly became obvious that ONI was actually gunning for Vance. The more Cable dug into the details behind the accusations, the more Dr. Bull remembered one of the reasons he chose to leave NCIS.

The corruption in ONI horrified him. Vance was actually cockblocking the various corrupted ONI officials and preventing them from accomplishing their goals. They’d thrown one of his agents under the bus in retaliation to try and get some leverage to get Vance out of the director seat. They wanted to put someone else that they could control in the director position. 

When Dr. Bull brought this information to Gibbs, Gibbs was horrified. With Gibbs on board, Jason no longer felt torn about the case and they set about revealing the corruption in ONI through the trial. It helped that the charges they brought Gibbs up on were actually spurious and had no truth behind them.

Yes, Gibbs had mishandled evidence and misappropriated federal resources in the past, but not in the instances they were claiming he had. With the help of Cable, Benny, Danny, and Chunk, Gibbs was declared innocent of all charges. They weren’t able to have the ONI officials arrested in the courtroom, but Dr. Bull did tip the Attorney General off to the corruption and provided him corroborating evidence. 

The TAC team remained mystified as to Dr. Bull’s relationship with Gibbs. The one thing they were sure of, however, was that Gibbs was definitely trying to court Dr. Bull. Danny regretted missing the initial meeting between the two.

Both Cable and Marissa had recounted the meeting for Danny and it had only made her want to see the initial meeting more. She’d considered digging into Bull’s past to find out more about this Gibbs’ guy, but one look at Bull had made her decide against it. She knew what he would do if he found out.

Still she watched Gibbs and Bull interact like a hawk, hoping to catch something as juicy as what she had missed. She thought she might have found it, now, as she watched Gibbs box Dr. Bull in with his arms on either side of Bull, fencing Bull in against the wall. Jason shook his head at Gibbs' intimidation tactics. 

They didn’t affect him anymore. Plus, he knew Gibbs was doing it just for show. They’d already had the discussion about their personal relationship. The main reason they’d never gotten together during Jason’s years at NCIS was that Jason had known they would have to hide their relationship.

Jason hadn’t been willing to hide the relationship, so he just hadn’t gone there with Gibbs. With Gibbs not feeling the need to hide anymore that opened the possibility for a relationship. They still had things to work out and as with any relationship who knew if it would last, but they had agreed to try for now. 

“She’s watching isn’t she?” Dr. Bull murmured in Gibbs’ ear.

“Yep.” Gibbs agreed, their conversation hidden from Danny due to the position they held. 

“Just get it over with, then.” Dr. Bull shook his head. He knew Gibbs enjoyed messing with his team.

“You know you’ll enjoy every minute.” Gibbs glared.

Dr. Bull let a smile curl around the edges of his lips, but didn’t say anything further as Gibbs took his mouth in a deep kiss. Danny squealed. She couldn’t wait to tell Marissa and Cable.

**Author's Note:**

> I've started a new [poll](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/55450.html) regarding my series and which ones people most want to see continued in place of the Rapprochement series which I have brought to an end for now... 
> 
> Note: The Bishop Entanglement, Crazy Cat Tale, and Pregnant FBI Agent series will be continued no matter what, so you don't need to vote for those. For those who don't have livejournals just leave a comment with your responses. Thanks!
> 
> Also, I'm looking for some writing buddies. Full details are [here](https://cutsycat.livejournal.com/53610.html). It is friends locked, so you'll have to add me as a friend on lj before you can read it.
> 
> Also, Drakonyashka has translated a couple of my works into Russian. [Tutelage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378780) and [Imbue](http://archiveofourown.org/works/12378840). Go support them. 
> 
> My 2018 Prompt collection is now open [here](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/cutsycat_NCIS_Prompts_2018/profile). Just click the sign up link. ;)
> 
> If you are not an ao3 member, you can prompt me [here](http://cutsycat.livejournal.com/50701.html). Please follow the same rules as are listed in the above link. However, because this is a handmade prompt form(that thinks it's a poll), it is considerably more limited than what ao3 provides, so please use the ao3 form if you're an ao3 member. Please note the name option is for a name that I can say this is for so that you know it's for you. Since this is for non ao3 members it won't be true gifts, but you will be mentioned in the notes.
> 
> Feel free to leave feedback here if you think something could be improved(either in the prompt process or the story itself).


End file.
